


Freedom to live

by SkittishCat



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Catharsis, Closure, Gen, Journey's End, Narrative
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 01:36:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18511258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkittishCat/pseuds/SkittishCat
Summary: Clementine recovers from the events of The Walking Dead:The Final Season and lives a long, gloriously boring, life.





	Freedom to live

It started with a few books her friends had scrounged up from around the academy. It didn’t matter that most of them were boring old text books, after days in bed anything that could break the monotony was welcome. Besides, not all textbooks, no matter how dryly they’d been written, had to be boring. 

History textbooks were particularly welcome. Every time she’d open one, there was Lee. Sometimes, he was teaching in her elementary school in Atlanta. Other times, she’d be a student in his lecture hall in Athens. When she felt particularly down, he’d simply be telling her a soothing tale on the train to Savannah, or at the Travelier Motel in Macon. Every word she read, every insight she made, she’d hear it in his voice. 

When she was with Lee nothing else mattered. The grief, the guilt, and the incessant pain, they were all back with big Clem at the Academy. Little Clementine was someplace far away, where she didn’t have to deal with anything more serious than getting Duck to settle down so she could listen to what Lee had to say. But reality would always interrupt her journeys, a dressing change, a meal someone would insist she eat, or simply the end of the book she was reading, and she’d be right back to the broken state that was her present self.

Her friends took notice of the effect the books had on her demeanor, how the dark clouds that hung about her seemed to fade away whenever they found a book that captured her interest, and that history books in particular seemed to always be of interest to her. They became almost desperate to find more to bring to her. Traders took notice too, that the people at this school would for some reason pass up items most people considered valuable if they saw that a book was available instead. They started making a point of bringing books with them whenever they knew they would be making a stop there. The traders found it almost comical the way, for a while at least, each of the locals would corner them at some point during their visit to make a side deal, trading away a some personal treasures for a few books, clearly not knowing that the others were doing the same. They were doing it so they could give Clem a few moments of relief, which had become a commodity even more precious to them than it was to Clem, they couldn’t risk the possibility that someone would talk them out of it if they were found out. It didn’t take long, however, before they all realized what each other was doing, as the piles of books grew out of control in her room.

In time, her wounds healed. A prosthetic restored her ability to walk. A safe and stable home restored her ability to trust. Seeing AJ grow and thrive, after years of doubting that she had done right by him, restored her faith in herself. 

Her ordeal may have left her scarred in many ways, but what she had achieved was ultimately worth the price she had paid. She had secured a haven, not only for herself and the people she loved, but for scores of displaced people who had been seeking a home as well. They’d hear tales about the small band that had defeated the marauders who had inflicted strife on so many, and they’d experience a moment of hope that would draw them to come and see if maybe these were the people with whom they could finally feel safe. As they settled in greater numbers, it was their presence that guaranteed that future bandits would steer clear, not wanting to risk an attack on such a large settlement when they could seek out less dangerous prey instead. 

Trade with the outside world increased, as did the number of books that would arrive at their gate, but those books had become more of a comfort than the imperative they had once been. The abundance she had accumulated had swelled to the point that storage became a problem. Clem was happy to share with anyone who was interested, lending or even giving her old books to all who asked. The village had reached the point where construction of new buildings had become a routine event, and it seemed only natural that a library should be among them, so folks could have easier access to the collection she had amassed. 

The village continued to grow, and after a few years a new clientele began to frequent the library; parents, seeking to teach their young children to read. Clem had loved teaching AJ, and was eager to assist these overwhelmed mothers and fathers anytime she got the chance. When it became clear that her little library was inadequate for the number of children in need of an education, a schoolhouse was constructed next door, where Clem assumed the role of teacher. Working with a classroom full of children turned out to be more difficult than she had expected, but eventually she got the hang of it. Seeing Clem struggle to keep the children focused made for some interesting conversations with Lee, who made sure to remind her that he was glad he had taught at the college level. 

In the span of a generation, the walkers that rose from the populace of the old world rotted away. Humanity adapted their rituals to ensure that the newly dead no longer posed a threat to the living. Subsequent generations heard tales about walkers from their elders, but only saw them firsthand on occasions of rare misfortune. Cooperation between towns had rendered raiders a thing of the past. It was no longer necessary to hide behind walls, and so, the town grew beyond them. 

As the last of her students moved on to a brighter future, they remembered their teacher fondly. It was hard to believe that the kindly old educator with the infectious smile, who had taught generations of their families to find joy in life, had once been the fierce warrior who had secured the foundation of their society. Wanting to create a lasting memorial to the woman who had meant so much to so many, they saw to it that her original, simple, wooden, library was replaced by one made of more lasting materials. They recounted the tales she had told them, of her journey and the people she had remembered fondly, so artists could adorn the new library with images of them in relief. While the cruel fate that had separated her from them could never be undone, here at least, among the still images carved upon the enduring stonework of the structure that had been built in her honor, she would be forever reunited with the friends and loved ones she had lost along her way.


End file.
